TOP 300 MASTERS 2018
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 1 About Broadcom MASTERS Broadcom MASTERS® (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars), a program of Society for Science & the Public, is the premier middle school science and engineering fair competition, inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators who will solve the grand challenges of the 21st century and beyond. We believe middle school is a critical time when young people identify their personal passion, and if they find STEM elements, they can be inspired to follow their passion by taking STEM courses in high school.
As the only middle school STEM competition that leverages Society-affiliated science fairs as a critical component of the STEM talent pipeline, the Broadcom MASTERS consists of the top 10 percent of 6th, 7th and 8th grade projects entered in Society-affiliated fairs around the country. After submitting the online application, the Top 300 MASTERS are selected by a nationally ranked panel of scientists, engineers and educators.
The Top 300 MASTERS are honored for their work with a prize package that includes an award ribbon, semifinalist certificate of accomplishment, Broadcom MASTERS backpack, a Broadcom MASTERS decal, a one-year family digital subscription to Science News magazine, an Inventor's Notebook, courtesy of The Lemelson Foundation, a one-year subscription to Wolfram Mathematica software, courtesy of Wolfram Research and a special prize from Jeff Glassman, CEO of Covington Capital Management. In recognition of the role that teachers play in the success of their students, each Top 300 MASTERS' designated teacher also will receive a Broadcom MASTERS tote bag, a one-year digital subscription to Science News magazine, and a special edition booklet of Invention and Innovation articles, courtesy of The Lemelson Foundation.
From the Top 300 MASTERS group, 30 finalists are selected on September 18. They will present their research projects and compete in hands-on team STEM challenges to demonstrate their 21st Century skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity at the Broadcom MASTERS finals. Top awards include a grand prize of $25,000, trips to STEM summer camps and more.
Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public thank the following for their support of 2018 Broadcom MASTERS:
• Samueli Foundation • Smithosonian Environmental Research • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center • The Lemelson Foundation • Society for Science & • Jeff Glassman, CEO the Public's Affiliated Covington Capital Management Regional and State Science and • Wolfram Research Engineering Fairs • Computer History Museum • Parents, teachers and mentors of the 2,537 • Science News for Students Broadcom MASTERS entrants
2 2018 Top 300 MASTERS 2018 Top 300 MASTERS Students are listed in order by home state, fair code, and name of school based on information provided by each student in their entry. Students listed under the state fair may also have qualified through their regional fair. Students conducting team projects were eligible, but each student entered individually and was judged based on the submitted written entry. The grade listed for each student is from Spring 2018. Visit https://findafair.societyforscience.orgto look up Broadcom MASTERS affiliated fairs fairs by state. *Top 300 MASTERS nominated by regional and state fair.
ALABAMA USAL03 Discovery Middle School Ashwin Prabhakar (7th Grade) Madison, Alabama Synthetic Enhancement of Photosynthesis
USAL05 Holy Spirit Catholic High School Hayden Pilkinton (8th Grade) Boligee, Alabama Glaze Color Change
ARIZONA USAZ03 Arizona College Prep – Oakland Vinay Raman (8th Grade) Chandler, Arizona Effect of Chemical Dispersant Amount on the Difference of Interfacial Tension of Oil
Gowan Science Academy Matthew Boelts (6th Grade) Yuma, Arizona Fatal Attraction
Ironwood Elementary Adam Velazco (6th Grade) Marana, Arizona Wildlife Construction Malfunction
USAZ50 BASIS Scottsdale Maya Schwickert (7th Grade) Scottsdale, Arizona Dissolving Gelatin after High-Performance Synchro
BASIS Scottsdale Akshaya Venkatesh (8th Grade) Scottsdale, Arizona A Novel Mobile App to Minimize Food Waste and Maximize Harvest
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 3 ARKANSAS USAR04 Rural Special School Echo Mitchell (7th Grade) Fox, Arkansas The Arachnoid Fog Trap: Solving the Global Water Crisis
CALIFORNIA USCA01 Arroyo Vista Middle School Shaivi Shah (8th Grade) Rancho Santa Margarita, California iRelief: Smartphone-Based Eye Exercising Tool to Reduce Computer Vision Syndrome through Visual Movement Patterns
Fairmont Private School Kamran Ansari (6th Grade) Tustin, California Mathematical Modeling of Intracranial Pressure Response to Inversion Therapy for Dural Leak Headaches
Fairmont Private School Nadia Ansari (8th Grade) Tustin, California Removal of Dye Nanoparticles Using a Natural Coagulant with Electrocoagulation in Series to Remediate Wastewater
Fairmont Private School – Anaheim Hills Campus Firas Qureshi (8th Grade) Corona, California A Geotechnical Investigation on Infused Soil Characteristics
Our Lady Queen of Angels School Emma Zebrowski (8th Grade) Irvine, California How do the Angle and Direction of a Solar Cell Affect the Amount of Energy Generated?
Rancho San Joaquin Middle School Emily Hsi (8th Grade)* Irvine, California A Scientific Method of Choosing Sweet Grapes— An Evaluation of 12 Characteristics
Saint Margaret’s Episcopal School Parisa Khashayar (8th Grade) Laguna Niguel, California Micro-Processor Based Fire Fighter Assist Unit Using IOT
USCA02 American Martyrs School Clara Mangali (8th Grade) Hermosa Beach, California Ionic Liquids versus Enzymes: Cellulose Saccharification for the Production of Ethanol
4 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USCA02 American Martyrs School Emily Champion (7th Grade) Redondo Beach, California Solutions for Canine Otitis
Vahan and Anoush Chamlian Armenian School Jake Grigorian (7th Grade) Glendale, California Which Robotic Apparatus Picks up a Cone the Fastest?
Mountain Avenue Elementary School Mahesh Arunachalam (6th Grade) Montrose, California Seal that Mask!
Mountain Avenue Elementary School Mihir Manchikatla (6th Grade) La Crescenta, California Seal that Mask!
Saint Gregory A & M Hovsepian School Daron Yacoubian (7th Grade) Glendale, California
PorSHA H2O (Portable Solar Heating Apparatus)
Saint Timothy School Lola Castorina (7th Grade) Marina Del Rey, California Can Road Salt be Used to Control the Mosquito Population?
USCA03 Granite Ridge Intermediate School John Benedict Estrada (7th Grade) Fresno, California Comparison of Plant Chlorophyll Content Measurement Utilizing a Ground SPAD Meter Versus a Low Altitude Multispectral Camera
Granite Ridge Intermediate School Ananya Vinay (7th Grade) Fresno, California Testing Effectiveness of Computer-Based Study versus Traditional Methods: Are You Being a Neo-Luddite?
Quail Lake Charter School Ashley Schletewitz (8th Grade) Sanger, California Determining the Effects of Equisetum hyemale on the Growth Rate of Penicillium italicum
USCA04 Altamont Elementary School Alicia Roice (8th Grade) Mountain House, California Radical Terminators!: Comparing Antioxidant Activity of Different Polyphenol Rich Food Using the Briggs-Rauscher Reaction and a Raspberry Pi
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 5 USCA04 Altamont Elementary School Ashlyn Roice (8th Grade) Mountain House, California Radical Terminators!: Comparing the Antioxidant Activity of Different Food Samples Using the Briggs-Rauscher Reaction and Raspberry Pi
California Connections Academy at Ripon Yahvin Gali (8th Grade) Tracy, California eSphere — Buoy-Less, Biomimetic, Versatile, Low-Impact, Zero-Carbon Hydrokinetic Device that Harvests Energy from the Movement of Water Using Electromagnetic Induction, Without Harming the Environment and the Wildlife in It
USCA05 Bernardo Heights Middle School Anusha Kadiyala (8th Grade) San Diego, California Determining Gene Dominance in Polygenic Traits
Escondido Christian School Adrian Derderian (8th Grade) San Diego, California Probing Photons with Polarizers, Counting them with Cosines
Islamic School of San Diego Ziyad Soliman (8th Grade) Del Mar, California Map It Right!
Mesa Verde Middle School Atulya Mandyam (8th Grade) San Diego, California Relating Voluntary Wheel Running to Changes in Levels of Dopamine
Nazareth Catholic School Rohan Murali (7th Grade) San Diego, California Functional Orthotic Materials: Force Reduction during Impacts
The Rhoades School Jasmine Elasaad (8th Grade) Encinitas, California Effectiveness of Method of Loci on Short-Term and Long-Term Memory
The Rhoades School Kian Chakamian (7th Grade) Rancho Santa Fe, California Correlating Olive Quick Decline Syndrome Infections to Presence of Sharpshooters
6 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USCA05 Thurgood Marshall Middle School Blake Scurry (8th Grade) San Diego, California A Unique Spin on Aerodynamics; Airfoil Augmented with Semi-Auto Rotating Leading Edge Cylinder
USCA06 The Nueva School Jack Albright (8th Grade)* Los Altos, California Predicting the Future: Using Machine Learning to Forecast the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease
USCA07 Challenger School – Strawberry Park Arhana Aatresh (7th Grade) Saratoga, California Up, Up, and Away: The Effect of Substrate Type, Substrate Temperature, and Load on Hover Engines and Hovering Efficiency
Challenger School – Sunnyvale Diptanshu Sikdar (8th Grade) Milpitas, California Energy Harvesting Utilizing a Wind-Driven Triboelectric Generator
Challenger School – Sunnyvale Sonia Swamy (6th Grade) Cupertino, California AlgalPlast — Sustainable Bioplastic from Algae and its Effect on Tensile Strength, Water Resistance, and Compostability
Challenger School – Sunnyvale Henry Yao (6th Grade) Sunnyvale, California What’s in Your Lunch Box? Exploring the Effect of Time and Temperature on Nitrite Level in Cooked Foods
Granada Islamic School Ahmad Ismail (8th Grade) Santa Clara, California Effect of Combination Antifungal Therapy on the Treatment of Candidiasis
Granada Islamic School Fatimah Ismail (6th Grade) Santa Clara, California Developing an Artificial Pancreas: Dealing with Diabetes
The Harker School Sriram Bhimaraju (6th Grade) Cupertino, California Low-Cost Archery Assistant with an Interface for the Visually Impaired
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 7 USCA07 The Harker School Alice Feng (8th Grade) San Jose, California The Effect of Mushroom Species and Substrates on the Properties of a Novel Biodegradable Material: Mycelium
The Harker School Arely Sun (8th Grade) Saratoga, California The Effect of Mushroom Species and Substrates on the Properties of a Novel Biodegradable Material: Mycelium
Joaquin Miller Middle School Krithi Koodli (8th Grade) Saratoga, California Distinguishing between Binary and Singular Stars Using Machine Learning
Oakwood Country School Ayana Wilmot (7th Grade) San Martin, California Factors Affecting the Rate of Photosynthesis of California Lichens: A Suitability Study into Oxygen Production on Mars
Quimby Oak Middle School Sneha Revanur (8th Grade) San Jose, California Analyzing Gender-Based Violence and Aggressive Behavior Through Social Media Data
Saint Christopher School Joseph Thomas (7th Grade) San Jose, California A Machine Learning Approach to Predicting NBA Rookie Potential
Stratford School– San Jose Middle Schoo Vedant Janapaty (6th Grade) San Jose, California Redirecting Water to the Roots: An Effective Way to Increase Water Absorbency
Stratford School – Sunnyvale Raynor Middle School Arhan Rout (8th Grade) Cupertino, California Using Adjuvant to Amplify the Effect of Organic Herbicides to Kill Undesired Plants
Stratford School – Sunnyvale Raynor Middle School Aylin Salahifar (8th Grade) Redwood City, California Using Adjuvants to Amplify the Effect of Organic Herbicides to Kill Undesired Plants
8 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USCA07 Terman Middle School Roy Gross (7th Grade) Palo Alto, California An Emergency Communication Mesh Network for Civilians: Lessons from Puerto Rico
USCA08 Iron Horse Middle School Jaanavi Thanamala (8th Grade) San Ramon, California How Audience Size Affects an Adolescent Speaker’s Heart Rate
Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School Isabelle Katz (7th Grade) Moraga, California A Bubble Activated Human Powered Carbon Capture Device
USCA09 Corpus Christi School Julia Mastracci (8th Grade) Oakland, California Can People Cure Their Own Phone Addiction?
Harvest Park Middle School Lakshmi Sajith (8th Grade) Pleasanton, California Save Aquatic Life —An Alternative to Toxic Chemicals in Sunscreen
Homeschool Espen Slettnes (7th Grade)* Castro Valley, California Minimal Embedding Dimensions of Rectangle k-Visibility Graphs
Homeschool Maya Basu (8th Grade) Fremont, California Can I Predict Double and Triple Slit Interference with Geometry?
Stratford Middle School Fremont Curtis Sahan Karunaratne (6th Grade) Fremont, California Pill Minder: The Medication Reminder
USCA11 Gateway Middle School Abigail Goodman (6th Grade) Santa Cruz, California B Flat Bee: Does Wingbeat Frequency Predict Honeybee Flower Selection?
USCA12 International School of Monterey Ciann Amalan (7th Grade) East Garrison, California Are Handheld Devices Really Affecting Your Body?
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 9 USCA12 International School of Monterey Abby Yamashita (7th Grade) Monterey, California Are Handheld Devices Really Affecting Your Body?
USCA13 Lee Vining Elementary School Ellery McQuilkin (8th Grade)* Lee Vining, California A Tale of Two Slopes: Aspect Creates Microclimates
Mt. Baldy Joint Elementary School Harrison Cameron (7th Grade) Upland, California Out of Control: Blood Glucose Meter Accuracy
USCA15 El Cerrito Middle School Nathan Gomez (7th Grade) Corona, California Biomass to Biogas
Homeschool Saira Gupta (8th Grade) Riverside, California Making Our Smartphones Lifesavers: Allergen Residue Detection
Riverside Virtual School James Fagan (8th Grade) Riverside, California Design and Calibration of a Subsonic, Low Density Wind Tunnel for Martian Aerodynamic Research
USCA16 Central Middle School Sarah Hansen (7th Grade) San Carlos, California Eyedropper Properties that Affect Drop Size
Central Middle School Christopher Kwok (7th Grade) San Carlos, California R.I.P. Double Reeds: How to Delay the Decaying Rate of a Double Reed?
Central Middle School Nicholas Kwok (7th Grade) San Carlos, California R.I.P. Double Reeds: How to Delay the Decaying Rate of a Double Reed?
Crocker Middle School Alexis MacAvoy (7th Grade) Hillsborough, California A Rising Power: Improving the Power Output of a Microbial Fuel Cell, the Rising Solution to Our Quest for Renewable Energy Sources
10 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USCA16 La Entrada Middle School Sina Kassayan (6th Grade) Atherton, California Light Bite: An Optical Measurement Method and Device to Determine the Ripeness of Fruits
The Nueva School Alexandra Wingate (7th Grade) San Mateo, California Using Probabilistic Techniques to Build a Better Primality Test
Woodside Elementary School Georgia Hutchinson (7th Grade) Woodside, California Designing a Data-Driven Dual Axis Solar Tracker
USCA50 Altamont Elementary School Jacqueline Prawira (8th Grade) Mountain House, California Bio.fiber.plastic: The Effect of Lignocellulosic Fiber in Enhancing the Formation and Tensile Strength of Rice Bioplastic
Challenger School – Berryessa Nithika Karthikeyan (8th Grade) San Jose, California The Design of Algorithms to Encode English Text in Amino Acids Using Digital Data Compression
Delphi Academy of Campbell Samik Pattanayak (6th Grade) Saratoga, California Does Screen Time before Bedtime Impinge the Quality of your Sleep?
The Harker School Harsh Deep (8th Grade) Saratoga, California The Effect of T4 Bacteriophages on Antibiotic Resistant E. coli
The Harker School Shounak Ghosh (8th Grade) Saratoga, California The Effect of T4 Bacteriophages on Antibiotic Resistant E. coli
Los Cerritos Middle School Spencer King (8th Grade) Thousand Oaks, California Magnetic Levitation: Reducing Train Friction with Track
Notre Dame Catholic School Emily Huitt (8th Grade) Chico, California Investigating the Effects of Endomycorrhizea Fungi versus Cow Manure on the Growth of Tomato Plants
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 11 USCA78 Sierra Vista Middle School Jude Alexis (7th Grade) Irvine, California Melding with Machines: An AI Based Non-Invasive Artificial Pancreas System
Sierra Vista Middle School Braedyn Hutchison (7th Grade) Irvine, California The “Sweetest” Rocket Candy: Evaluating Sucrose, Glucose, and Fructose as Fuels for Sugar-Based Solid Rocket Motors
USCA79 Goleta Valley Junior High School Antonio Cortijo Rodgers (8th Grade) Goleta, California Branding and its Effects on Consumer Satisfaction and Preferences
COLORADO USCO06 Walt Clark Middle School Kelly Clingan (8th Grade) Loveland, Colorado Can We Prevent Concussions in Youth Sports and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopthy (CTE) in Later Life? An Evidence Based Analysis of Collision Impulse Reduction and Protective Headgear Effectiveness
USCO09 Summit Middle Charter School Haiyan Wang (8th Grade) Boulder, Colorado Plant Growth in a Mars-Like Environment
Summit Middle Charter School Ethan Wurman (8th Grade) Boulder, Colorado A Salt and Battery: The Electrolysis of Salt Water Solutions
USCO10 Challenge Middle School Sirinya Frankel (8th Grade) Greenwood Village, Colorado The Effect of Impermeable Surfaces on Soil Biodiversity
Challenge Middle School Georgia Hartley (8th Grade)* Denver, Colorado Mind the Gape:The Effect of Tension on the Gaping of Sutures
Challenge Middle School Esha Sury (8th Grade) Greenwood Village, Colorado Synergizing Antibiotics with Broad-Range Bacteriophage K and Prophylactic Silver Nanoparticles: An Attempt to Tackle Specific Cases of Resistance
12 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USCO10 Challenge Middle School Neil Sury (7th Grade) Greenwood Village, Colorado Enhancing Gecko Adhesive Technology Using Micro-Fiter Nano Molding and Carbon Nanotubes
STEM School Gitanjali Rao (7th Grade)* Lone Tree, Colorado Detecting Lead Compounds in Water Using Carbon Nanotubes
CONNECTICUT USCT50 Saint Bridget School Kavin Kathir (8th Grade) Cheshire, Connecticut Transforming Trash into Treasure: Sustainable Approach to Oil Spill Cleanup
Saint Gregory the Great School Maximilien Coisman (7th Grade) Danbury, Connecticut Testing Different Species of Algae in Building Self-Sustaining Microbial Fuel Cells
Talcott Mountain Academy Julian Kage (8th Grade) Glastonbury, Connecticut Quick Lyme: The Rapid Test for Lyme Bacteria in Ticks
Talcott Mountain Academy Emma Ruccio (8th Grade) Southington, Connecticut Got Your Back
Westside Middle School Academy Khushi Parikh (8th Grade) Danbury, Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Based Image Recognition to Diagnose Lyme Disease FLORIDA USFL05 Canterbury School Jason Nanda (6th Grade) Fort Myers, Florida Does Transmission Efficiency Correlate with Long-Term Durability in Worm Gear Reducers?
USFL07 Okaloosa STEMM Academy Gabriel Lerner-Sperow (7th Grade)* Niceville, Florida Fueling the Future: Hydrogen Production Yield and Rate Dependent upon Aluminum Surface Area
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 13 USFL08 Abraham Lincoln Middle School Anjana Balachandar (8th Grade)* Gainesville, Florida The Behavior of Bent Backbones
USFL08 Abraham Lincoln Middle School Janani Kumaran (8th Grade)* Gainesville, Florida Integrated Control of the Invasive Aquatic Plant Hydrilla Using Snails and a Plant Growth Regulator (Continuation Project: Year 2)
Abraham Lincoln Middle School Akash Verma (7th Grade)* Gainesville, Florida Boosting Cognitive Skills: An EEG Study
Canterbury School Maya Chandar (8th Grade)* Fort Myers, Florida The Effect of Laser Beams on the Cellular Respiration and ATP Production in Zophobas morio (A Novel 3rd Year Study)
USFL09 American Heritage School Christian Custodio (8th Grade) Coral Springs, Florida Analysis of Monotherapy and Combination Therapy on Helicobacter felis
American Heritage School Rohan Kumar (8th Grade) Miramar, Florida Subculturing Coccolithophores with Iron Fertilization to Sequester Carbon Dioxide as a Potential Solution to Global Warming
Crystal Lake Middle School Khushi Desai (7th Grade) Coral Springs, Florida Effect of Colloidal Solution Turbidity on Optimum Consumption of Metal- Based Coagulant in Clarification of Colloidal Particles from Solution
USFL10 Julia Landon College Preparatory and Leadership Development School Chace Caven (7th Grade)* Jacksonville, Florida Designing Ligands that Dock with Mutated LRRK2 Proteins as a Potential Intervention for Parkinson’s Disease
Julia Landon College Preparatory and Leadership Development School Nicole Stover (8th Grade)* Jacksonville, Florida The Effect of Dissolved Oxygen Augmentation on the Kratky Non-Circulating Method of Hydroponic Tomato Cultivation
14 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USFL14 Ronald McNair Magnet Middle School Kai Aravena (8th Grade) Melbourne, Florida The Safest Catcher’s Mask
USFL15 Saint Rose of Lima Catholic School Gabriela Muriel (8th Grade) Aventura, Florida Paraplegics Achieving Stability in the Vertical Wind Tunnel
John I. Smith K–8 Center Carina Mariaca (8th Grade) Doral, Florida Squeeze the Green
USFL17 Lake Highland Preparatory School Varun Madan (8th Grade)* Orlando, Florida Field Testing of Feeding Bacterium Bifidobacterium infantis (Found in a Human Gut Probiotic) in Order to Improve Honey Bee Health
Orange County Preparatory Academy Mikayla Simmons (8th Grade) Orlando, Florida The Number 7 May Prove to be Lucky with Cancer
USFL19 Covenant Christian School Colin Campbell (8th Grade) Panama City, Florida The Effect of In-Water Application of Vibration on the Posterior Regeneration of Dugesia tigrina
Surfside Middle School Lillian Mefford (8th Grade) Panama City Beach, Florida Operation Turtle Grass: Exploring the Relationship Between Turbidity and Thalassia testudinum in St. Andrew Bay and Grand Lagoon
USFL21 Fruit Cove Middle School Lourdes McKay (8th Grade) St. Johns, Florida Mythbusting: Does Coffee Roast Style Affect Caffeine Concentrations?
Liberty Pines Academy Hannah Rivkin (7th Grade) St Augustine, Florida Which Airfoil Type Can Achieve the Greatest Angle of Attack (CL Max) Without Losing Lift?
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 15 USFL21 Sanford Middle School Deepika Kannan (8th Grade)* Oviedo, Florida Li-fi Versus Wi-fi: Factors Affecting Data Transmission Across Electromagnetic Spectra
Sanford Middle School Annika Vaidyanathan (8th Grade)* Oviedo, Florida The Sweet Sound of Silence: A New Design for Quieter Vent and Fan Grilles (Year 2 Study)
USFL23 Sanford Middle School Kyra Henriques (7th Grade) Sanford, Florida Testing the Antimicrobial Properties of Herbs and Spices on Aerobic Microbes in Milk
Seminole Science Charter School Timo Horn (6th Grade) Winter Park, Florida Performance Difference Between Lithium-Based Automotive Greases
USFL29 American Heritage School of Boca Delray Ayden Lapon (8th Grade) Delray Beach, Florida Does Bacteria Show Aggressive and Territorial Behavior?
USFL29 The Weiss School Benjamin Barron (8th Grade) Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Coronary Stent Design and Optimization
USFL30 Charles S. Rushe Middle School Hailey Mahadeen (8th Grade) Lutz, Florida Cryoprotection
USFL31 Gifford Middle School Zachary Hessler (7th Grade)* Vero Beach, Florida SOS 2: See Our Silence; An Optical Approach to Controlling Digital Noise Cancellation
Storm Grove Middle School Lucero Long (8th Grade)* Vero Beach, Florida Do You Get My Drift? The Effect of Drift Reduction Agent on Spray Patterns
16 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USFL50 Howard Middle School Vivek Sandrapaty (7th Grade)* Ocala, Florida Take a Dive into the Future of Water Safety: An Idea for a Small Electronic Device that May Prevent Accidental Drowning in Swimming Pools
Lawton Chiles Middle School Varsha Naga (8th Grade)* Oviedo, Florida Rush to Green Gold: Comparitive Efficiency of Biofuel Processed from Green Sources versus Fossil Fuels
USFL50 Pine Ridge Middle School Benno Hermans (7th Grade) Naples, Florida Bioplastics
West Shore Junior/Senior High School Kaylee Krininger (8th Grade) Melbourne, Florida Determining if a Method Using Chemical and Gelid Temperature Cell Lysis can Most Effectively Decellularize Bos taurus Renal Tissue while Preserving the Extracellular Matrix Scaffolding and Other Intracellular Contents (A Second Year Study)
GEORGIA USGA03 The Westminster Schools William Jenkins (8th Grade)* Atlanta, Georgia Robotic Tennis Ball Sorter
USGA09 J.C. Booth Middle School Marc van Zyl (7th Grade) Peachtree City, Georgia Automatic Mangivison
Whitewater Middle School Jacob Morrison (7th Grade) Senoia, Georgia Collision Chaos
USGA12 General Ray Davis Middle School Nylah Ductan (8th Grade) Conyers, Georgia Which Bioabsorption Technique is More Efficient?
USGA13 Fulton Science Middle School Khalil Lindo (6th Grade) Decatur, Georgia Nature’s Water Filters
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 17 USGA50 Chapel Hill Middle School Kennedy Rogers (7th Grade) Douglasville, Georgia Play It Safe: Detecting Concussion Prone Impacts in Youth Sports
Northwestern Middle School Asmi Kumar (8th Grade) Milton, Georgia Developing a Device to Predict Autistic Meltdowns Using Arduino & MS Azure
USGA78 Lovinggood Middle School Stephen Litt (8th Grade) Marietta, Georgia Phase III: Can Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Identify and Eliminate Cancerous Tumors in Planarians? A Novel Approach Toward a Cure for Cancer
HAWAII USHI05 Waiakea Intermediate School Claire Hughes (8th Grade) Hilo, Hawaii Do Different Populations of Ohia Seedlings from Around the Island Have any Resistance to ROD Lukuohia/Huliohia
USHI06 Kailua Intermediate School Heather Dinman (8th Grade) Kailua, Hawaii Maximize Hydroponic Plant Growth
USHI08 Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School Zoey Duan (8th Grade)* Honolulu, Hawaii Munch On Plastic
USHI50 Waiakea Intermediate School Matthew Okuda (8th Grade) Hilo, Hawaii Obtaining Optimum Efficiency in a Solar Autoclave: A Global Solution
ILLINOIS USIL05 Quest Academy Saanvi Chelikani (8th Grade) Palatine, Illinois Heavy Metals in Water: It’s Not Just a Band
INDIANA USIN24 Schmucker Middle School Faisal Syed (8th Grade) Granger, Indiana The Effect of Artificial Sweeteners onDrosophila melanogaster Circadian Rhythms
18 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USIN26 West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School Irene Bhunia (8th Grade) West Lafayette, Indiana Renal Microbe Mishap: Microbial Imbalance’s Effect on the Formation of Kidney Stones
IOWA USIA50 Lewis Central Middle School Amara Orth (8th Grade) Glenwood, Iowa Chemical Analysis of Honey Bee Propolis: Habitat Diversity Affects the Quality of Propolis, an Essential Component of Honey Bee Colonies
Albert W. Merrill Middle School Carl Tubbs (7th Grade) Des Moines, Iowa Taking the Sting from the Swing
KANSAS USMO04 Delta Woods Middle School Bentley Siems (6th Grade) Blue Springs, Missouri Radiation’s Effects on Bacteria Surface Area
South Middle School Thomas Lushington (7th Grade) Lawrence, Kansas TDP-43 Fibril Cappers for ALS Treatment via Molecular Simulations
South Middle School Frances Parker (7th Grade) Lawrence, Kansas Simulations and Design of Protein Helix Stabilizers for ALS Treatment
KENTUCKY USKY02 Saint Francis of Assisi Avery Ramsey (7th Grade) Louisville, Kentucky The Impact of Flame Retardants on Stem Cell Behavior
USKY03 Meyzeek Middle School Shraman Kar (6th Grade) Louisville, Kentucky Garden Bot — Healthy Garden Producing Maximum Output while Conserving Precious Groundwater Using Arduino Based Controller and Sensors
Meyzeek Middle School Shreyas Kar (8th Grade) Louisville, Kentucky Right Charity — A Software-Based Web Application to Bring Donors, Charities and Receivers on the Same Platform and Facilitate to Donate and Distribute Most Needed Items to Right People at Right Time
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 19 USKY03 Meyzeek Middle School Luke Mo (7th Grade) Louisville, Kentucky Does Ambient Particulate Matter Cause Cytotoxicity and DNA Damage?
USKY05 Trinity Christian Academy Alexis Hopper (7th Grade) Georgetown, Kentucky Shocking Stem Cells
USKY05 Edythe J. Hayes Middle School Kiera Fehr (7th Grade) Lexington, Kentucky Saved in Space: The Mission Continues
USKY50 Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School John Mulvihill (6th Grade) Louisville, Kentucky Creating Pawpaw Bioplastics
Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School Kate Quinn (6th Grade) Louisville, Kentucky Exploring Atrazine’s Neurotoxicity as a Possible Cause of Parkinson’s Disease
LOUISIANA USLA02 Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School Ashini Modi (8th Grade)* Shreveport, Louisiana Photometric Detection of Extra Solar Planetary Transits Across Sun-Like Stars
USLA08 John Curtis Christian Rachel Pizzolato (8th Grade)* Metairie, Louisiana Improving 3D Printed Turbine Efficiency by Exploiting the “Lotus Effect” Through the Application of Silicon Nanoparticles to Turbine Blade Surfaces and Varying the Wind Diverter Angle of a Venturi
MARYLAND USMD02 Urbana Middle School Maansi Manoj (7th Grade) Frederick, Maryland The Effect of Neem Leaf Extract as an Antibacterial and Antifungal Agent
Urbana Middle School Emily Wang (7th Grade) Frederick, Maryland The Effect of Neem Leaf Extract as an Antifungal and Antibacterial Agent
USMD03 Roberto Clemente MIddle School Daniel Choi (8th Grade) Germantown, Maryland Antioxidants on Regeneration: The More the Better?
20 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USMD03 Roberto Clemente Middle School Efe Eroz (8th Grade) Rockville, Maryland Examining the Correlation between Water Toxicity and Lettuce Growth through a Biological Assay
Roberto Clemente Middle School Mihir Gupta (8th Grade) Clarksburg, Maryland How Different Types of Helmets Affect How the Head Is Protected
Roberto Clemente Middle School Frank Horrigan (8th Grade) Darnestown, Maryland The Ratio of Antioxidant to Glycemic Load in Fruit Juice
Roberto Clemente Middle School Jeffrey Jiang (8th Grade) Germantown, Maryland What Helmet is Best for You?
Roberto Clemente Middle School Benjamin Nachod (8th Grade) Clarksburg, Maryland Measuring the Effect of Different Seaweed Based Bio-Stimulants on the Growth of Plants
Roberto Clemente Middle School Sarah Thomas (8th Grade) Clarksburg, Maryland The Effects of Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions on the Metabolic Efficiency of Yeast
MASSACHUSETTS USMA02 Andover School of Montessori Anna Du (6th Grade) Andover, Massachusetts Developing a Smart Infrared Based ROV to Identify Microplastics in Marine Environments
Blanchard Middle School Diya Godavarti (8th Grade) Westford, Massachusetts The Science Behind Homemade Yogurt Manufacturing
Littleton Middle School Vivienne Lance (8th Grade)* Littleton, Massachusetts Plant-Based Phytol Makes Clean-Up of Oil Spills More Effective
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 21 USMA02 Littleton Middle School Michael Taylor (8th Grade)* Littleton, Massachusetts An Analysis of the Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on the Protein Concentration and Proteinogenic Amino Acid Concentrations of Brassica rapa Floral Pollen: A Potential Cause of Honeybee Colony Loss and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
USMA05 Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School Sruthi Kurada (8th Grade) Littleton, Massachusetts Building a State-of-the-Art Audio Classifier through Machine Learning
USMA50 Homeschool Ella Berger (6th Grade) Marlborough, Massachusetts Are Superluminal Speeds Really Unreachable?
Oak Middle School Diya Satanur (8th Grade) Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Helping Hands – Aide Speech Disorder in Children
Sharon Middle School Srivishnu Piratla (8th Grade) Sharon, Massachusetts R-View: An Inexpensive and Efficient System to Detect Firearms in Public Spaces
South Middle School Kaia Rodrigues (7th Grade) Brockton, Massachusetts Improving the Effectiveness of Highway Noise Barriers
MICHIGAN USMI02 Huda School and Montessori Adnan Khan (7th Grade) Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Cages, Foil, and Shields — How to Keep Your Smartphone from Zapping You!
Michigan Islamic Academy Ahmad Sukhon (6th Grade) Ann Arbor, Michigan Braille Translator Device and Software
Saint Matthew Lutheran School Anthony Quittschreiber (8th Grade) Milford, Michigan Riddled with Potholes
22 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USMI02 West Hills Middle School Pooja Kannappan (8th Grade) West Bloomfield, Michigan Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare
USMI03 Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy Jett Miller (6th Grade) Merrill, Michigan Improving Air Bag Safety
MINNESOTA USMN04 Math and Science Academy Rikhil Seshadri (8th Grade)* Woodbury, Minnesota Low Cost, Non-Aqueous Electrolyte Based Supercapacitors for Energy Storage
Stillwater Junior High School Margaret Banks (6th Grade)* Woodbury, Minnesota Fruity Power: Creating a Biodegradable Battery
USMN07 Homeschool Supriya Roy (8th Grade) Rochester, Minnesota Mathematical Modeling of Virus Transmission During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic
MISSOURI USMO02 Saint Patrick Catholic School Andrew Woodley (8th Grade) Rolla, Missouri The Effect of the Angle of a Fidget Spinner on Spin Time
MONTANA USMT50 Hamilton Middle School Peyton Haddock (8th Grade) Hamilton, Montana Beetle Kill Wood: Changing Construction as We Know It
Kalispell Middle School Alexandra Houseworth (8th Grade) Kalispell, Montana The Renewable Rotating Recharger
Sussex School John Duerk (8th Grade) Missoula, Montana Quantum Entanglement with Polarization
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 23 USMT50 Sussex School Daisy Kulina (8th Grade) Missoula, Montana Quantum Entanglement with Polarization
NEBRASKA USNE02 Millard North Middle School Anvitha Boosani (8th Grade) Omaha, Nebraska Immune Engineering to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Other Immune-Related Diseases
NEW JERSEY USNJ03 Homeschool William Owen (7th Grade) Princeton, New Jersey Angular Momentum Transport in a Galactic Collision
Timberlane Middle School Charlotte Michaluk (6th Grade) Titusville, New Jersey Terrific Tensile Tester: A Cost Effective Solution for Evaluating Adhesive Systems
Toms River Intermediate North Julietta Onofrietti (8th Grade) Toms River, New Jersey Can Plant Derived Oils Act as a Natural Way to Decrease Caries Causing Bacteria Streptococcus mutans in the Oral Cavity?
NEW MEXICO USNM01 Jefferson Middle School Olivia Cole (7th Grade) Albuquerque, New Mexico The “Far Out” Spectrum of a Quasar
School of Dreams Academy Gianna Nilvo (6th Grade)* Los Lunas, New Mexico The Digestion of Cat Food
USNM50 Sierra Middle School Ksenia Sevostianov (7th Grade) Las Cruces, New Mexico Play “Spot the Difference” to Fight Cancer
NEW YORK USNY01 Lagrange Middle School Aidan Yen (7th Grade) Poughkeepsie, New York The Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Yeast Cells
24 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USNY02 Commack Middle School Michael Jang (8th Grade) Commack, New York Development of Solar-Powered Toxic Metal Cleaning Station from Water Bodies
Garden City Middle School Austin Crouchley (8th Grade) Garden City, New York Designing More Efficient Solar Panels: The Effect of Copper Cooling Coils on Solar Module Output and Hot Water Production
Garden City Middle School Caroline Crouchley (6th Grade) Garden City, New York Comparing Structural Integrity of Traditionally Shaped Housing and Geodesic Domes
Grand Avenue Middle School Tyler Bissoondial (7th Grade) Bellmore, New York MicroRNA-156 Regulates Gametophyte to Sporophyte Development and Sensitivity to Salinity in Ceratopteris richardii
USNY05 Rye Neck Middle School Kyle Ryan (6th Grade) Mamaroneck, New York Air Pollution: Particulate Matter in the Village of Mamaroneck
USNY09 Allendale Columbia School Madeleine Cotter (8th Grade) Rochester, New York Smooth Moves: A Comparison of Inverse Kinematics Algorithms for Natural Positions
USNY11 Transit Middle School Alexandra Nikiforov (7th Grade) Williamsville, New York EyeFitness
USNY78 Hunter College High School Andrei Iosifescu (8th Grade) Brooklyn, New York Tracking Geomagnetic Storms Using a WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver
Hunter College High School Aidan Lok (7th Grade) Howard Beach, New York Is the Five Second Rule True? The Effects of Food Type, Surface Type and Contact Time on Bacterial Transfer to Dropped Food
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 25 NORTH CAROLINA USNC50 R. Max Abbott Middle School Kaitlyn Zuravel (8th Grade) Fayetteville, North Carolina Glue Busters: A Quest to See which Glue Will Make a Lap Joint with the Largest Ultimate Shear Strength and Be Most Efficient Over Time Considering the Ultimate Shear Strength of the Joint as Well as the Cost and Mass of the Glue
R. Max Abbott Middle School Lauren Zuravel (6th Grade) Fayettville, North Carolina Glue Busters: A Quest to See which Glue Will Make a Lap Joint with the Largest Ultimate Shear Strength and Be Most Efficient Over Time Considering the Ultimate Shear Strength of the Joint as Well as the Cost and Mass of the Glue
East Wilkes Middle School Chance Mastin (7th Grade) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Is It Just a Simple Dimple?
Roland-Grise Middle School Uma Volety (8th Grade) Wilmington, North Carolina What’s in Your Water? Lethal and Sub-Lethal Effects of the Polyfluorinated Compound, GenX, on the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica
Roland-Grise Middle School Regan Williams (7th Grade) Wilmington, North Carolina One Grass, Two Grass, Old Grass, New Grass: Tropicalization and Its Effects on a Coastal Marine Ecosystem
OHIO USOH02 Academy of Saint Adalbert Daniel Anthony (7th Grade) Strongsville, Ohio The Effect of Magnetic Field Strength on Ferrofluid and Its Weight Bearing Capacity
Birchwood School John Shin (7th Grade)* Richfield, Ohio Predicting Geomagnetic Storms with GPS
Homeschool David Anand (7th Grade) Akron, Ohio Use of Haptic Feedback Controller to Counter the Effects of Varying Levels of Gravity on the Vestibular System for Inter-Planetary Space Travel
26 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USOH02 Homeschool Kaz Kojima (7th Grade) Medina, Ohio Pupillography Image Analysis for Measuring Pupillary Light Reflex
USOH10 Mason Middle School Gayatri Rajan (8th Grade) Mason, Ohio Application Development for Alzheimer’s Pre-Symptomatic Testing (ADAPT)
USOH50 Saint Columban School Regan Sharp (7th Grade) Loveland, Ohio What Factors Impact Muscle Stretch?
OREGON USOR04 Meadow Park Middle School Gauri Arora (7th Grade) Portland, Oregon Mitosis in Onions
Stoller Middle School Pratik Vangal (8th Grade)* Portland, Oregon Ameliorating Acute Respiratory Infections from Solid Biomass Fuel Combustion and Empowering Rural Kitchens with a Sustainable, Cost-Effective Ventilation Solution
USOR07 Howard Street Charter School Mihir Joshi (7th Grade)* Salem, Oregon Terrella Aurora Model: A Demonstration of Charged Particle Shielding for Space Exploration
Leslie Middle School John Madland (7th Grade)* Salem, Oregon Solar Radiation Charged Particle Deflector
USOR50 Bend Science Station Teaghan Knox (8th Grade) Bend, Oregon Increasing the Speed of Olivine Weathering as a Means of Sequestering Carbon Dioxide
Bend Science Station Tiadora Wisco (7th Grade) Bend, Oregon Exploration of BZ Magnetic Rings Valley Catholic Middle School
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 27 USOR50 Cedar Park Middle School Arunima Deval (6th Grade) Portland, Oregon Mycorrhizal Fungi: An Exploration of the Impact of Organic Fertilizers on Plant Growth
Cedar Park Middle School Nikita Istratov (6th Grade) Portland, Oregon How Different Methods of Proportional Stringing Affect the Sweet Spot of a Tennis Racquet
Stoller Middle School Rishab Jain (7th Grade) Portland, Oregon A Novel Deep Learning Approach Towards Semantic Segmentation of Malignant Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Growths for Pancreatoduodenectomy and Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT)
Stoller Middle School Mithra Karamchedu (8th Grade) Portland, Oregon Arctic Methane Risk: Remote Sensing and Quantifying Permafrost Melt in Circumpolar Regions by Performing Fractal Analysis to Establish Temperature Correlations
Stoller Middle School Darsh Mandera (7th Grade) Portland, Oregon A Novel General Purpose Machine Learning Approach for Effective Targeted Drug Prescription for Cancer Based on Genetic Mutations
Valley Catholic Middle School Dev Rishi Udata (8th Grade) Beaverton, Oregon Adsorbtion of Lead in Contaminated Water
PENNSYLVANIA USPA01 Saint Theresa School Danielle Uroda (7th Grade) Camp Hill, Pennsylvania Crash Barriers: Plastic or Sand?
Centerville Middle School Daniel Hufnagle (7th Grade) East Petersburg, Pennsylvania Liquid Armor
USPA02 Lancaster Country Day School Milana Breuninger (7th Grade) Lancaster, Pennsylvania Even Small Towns Contribute to Global Warming
28 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USPA02 Lancaster Country Day School Gavin Wang (8th Grade) Wyomissing, Pennsylvania Characteristics of High-Energy Cosmic Rays
Manheim Township Middle School Krishnakumar Chinnasamy (7th Grade) Lancaster, Pennsylvania Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles Engineering for Cancer Theranostics
USPA03 Arcola Intermediate School Parmesh Sivakumar (7th Grade) Collegeville, Pennsylvania Maximizing the Combustion Power of Ethanol
C.C.A. Baldi Middle School Maria Calderon (8th Grade) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Effects of Hurricanes
Great Valley Middle School Brighton Risch (6th Grade) Malvern, Pennsylvania Placebos and Prestige: Flavor Testing
Springhouse Middle School Victor Cai (8th Grade) Orefield, Pennsylvania Designing a Sun Tracking Solar Panel to Maximize and Quantify Energy Harvest Efficiency
Springhouse Middle School Dhivya Shepherd (8th Grade) Allentown, Pennsylvania Fermentation in Aerobic and Anaerobic Environments
Tredyffrin-Easttown Middle School Leo Wylonis (8th Grade) Berwyn, Pennsylvania “Make Airplanes Great Again”: Optimizing and Controlling Aircraft Wing Shape and Efficiency In-Flight through Novel Polymer Artificial Muscle Actuators
University Scholars Eeshwar Krishnan (8th Grade) Exton, Pennsylvania Using a Computer Algorithm to Predict if a Patient with Diabetes Will Return within 30 days
USPA04 The Campus School of Carlow University Eleanor Barth-Wu (8th Grade) Pittsburh, Pennsylvania Can Indium Be Extracted from Used Touch Screens
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 29 USPA04 Dorseyville Middle School Arvind Seshan (7th Grade) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Leveraging Directional Antenna-Based Wireless Signal Localization to Aid Search and Rescue Efforts
Kentucky Avenue School Olina Mukherjee (6th Grade) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Complex Social Behavior in Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
Saint Kilian Parish School Anna Spalvieri (8th Grade) Seven Fields, Pennsylvania Eye See It Differently
Winchester Thurston School Jackson Zemek (8th Grade) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Harvester Robot
USPA06 Saint Francis Xavier Catholic School Walter Kotlinski (8th Grade) Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Camber Position in Effective Airfoil Design
SOUTH CAROLINA USSC04 Dent Middle School Parth Desai (8th Grade) Columbia, South Carolina Effects of Musical Training on the Cognitive Performance of Children
Dutch Fork Middle School Sullivan French (8th Grade) Columbia, South Carolina Sustainable Engineering Green Roof Design
USSC78 Homeschool Danielle Brooks (8th Grade) Seneca, South Carolina Why Don’t Birds of a Feather Freeze Together? A Study of the Thermal Insulation Value of Feathers
TENNESSEE USTN04 Farragut Middle School Ridhima Singh (7th Grade) Knoxville, Tennessee Does Urbanization Impact Flooding?
USTN05 Pleasant View School Yasmeen Mannan (6th Grade) Germantown, Tennessee The Effect of pH in Liquids on the Rate of Corrosion
30 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USTN05 Pleasant View School Naisha Chowdhury (8th Grade) Memphis, Tennessee Effect of Linoleic Acid on Wood Sealing Abilities
TEXAS USTX01 Pat and Catherine Fowler Middle School Vinay Ravi (8th Grade) Plano, Texas The Application of Au Nanoparticles in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Frankford Middle School Sophie Krajmalnik (8th Grade)* Dallas, Texas SANDRA (Serve and Data Results Analysis) Athletic Tech Glove
Otto Middle School Sidhya Peddinti (8th Grade)* Richardson, Texas AlzAlertPi: Facial Recognition Alert System for Alzheimer’s Patients
Otto Middle School Neel Shanmugam (8th Grade) Richardson, Texas Feeling Feelings — Using Wearable Technology to Teach Autistic Children Emotion Recognition
Rice Middle School Rithvik Ganesh (8th Grade)* Plano, Texas Diminishing Dementia: Piperine Derivatives as Inhibitors of the Angiotensin II Receptor, a Promising Drug Target Linked to Dementia Treatment
Schimelpfenig Middle School Charles Hou (8th Grade) Plano, Texas A Novel Approach to Increase the Efficiency of a Galvanic Cell Battery Using Graphene Nanoplatelets
Wilson Middle School Harshal Bharatia (8th Grade) Plano, Texas Intellitherm: So Cool, It’s Hot
USTX02 Radford School Vincent Yang (8th Grade)* El Paso, Texas An Unprecedented Approach to Perceive Surrounding Environment: Helping the Visually Impaired and Blind with a New Invention
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 31 USTX05 The Emery/Weiner School Victor Markhasin (8th Grade) Houston, Texas Identifying Urban Micrometeorites
Seabrook Intermediate School Austin Nelson (7th Grade) League City, Texas Preserving Peanut Butter Puppies
Seabrook Intermediate School Pratishtha Sharma (8th Grade) League City, Texas It’s Lit!
USTX06 Gilmer Intermediate School Madison Perkins (7th Grade) Gilmer, Texas I’ve Got the Power: Creating Sustainable Energy Using Bacterial and Algae Fuel Cells
USTX11 BASIS San Antonio Shavano Campus Arhan Rao (7th Grade) San Antonio, Texas Effect of Sleep Hormone “Melatonin” on Breast Cancer Growth
Navarro Junior High School Megan Clark (8th Grade) Seguin, Texas Water Powered Cars — Pollution Free Renewable Energy
Saint Matthew Catholic School Laura Reilly (8th Grade)* San Antonio, Texas The Role of Tilapia Skin and UV Light on Tissue Regeneration and Wound Healing
USTX13 Canyon Vista Middle School Prayag Sreenivasan (7th Grade) Austin, Texas Analyzing Asymmetry in Human Locomotion to Improve Body Posture
Deerpark Middle School Faith Larimore (8th Grade) Austin, Texas Plasma and Magnetic Confinement
Harmony School of Political Science and Communication Abrar Rahman (6th Grade) Austin, Texas Smart Personnel Assistant
32 2018 Top 300 MASTERS USTX13 Pflugerville Middle School Lamisa Mahmud (8th Grade) Austin, Texas The Effect of Milli-Quantities of Essential Oils on Drug-Resistant E. coli (Year 2)
USTX50 Fort Settlement Middle School Anisha Parsan (7th Grade) Sugarland, Texas Go with the Flow (GFLOW) — Real-Time Street Flood Prediction and Warning System
Saint Matthew Catholic School Paula Reilly (7th Grade)* San Antonio, Texas Biochemical and Physiologic Effects of Slime-Derived Gas Products
UTAH USUT04 American Heritage School Olivia Washburn (8th Grade) Orem, Utah THE NOISY NICU — There’s a Cap for That
Summit Academy Jr. High – Bluffdale Independence Aspen Delis (7th Grade) Sandy, Utah Does SPF Matter? An Analysis of SPF Effectiveness in Sunscreen Lotions
West Jordan Middle School Jonathan LeBaron (7th Grade) West Jordan, Utah Mind over Math
USUT05 American Preparatory Academy Draper 2 Huck Jones (8th Grade) Salt Lake City, Utah A Measurement of the Onset Time of the Occipital Alpha Rhythm Using a Brain Computer Interface
Ensign Elementary School Elizabeth Bennion (6th Grade) Salt Lake City, Utah Do Rich Cities Have Better Water?
USUT07 Bear River Charter School Gary Zhan (8th Grade) North Logan, Utah The Colder, the Bluer — Significant Enhancement of Indigoidine Production Using a Cold-Shock Inducible Promoter
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 33 USUT07 Mountain Logan Middle School Camellia Yuan (8th Grade) Providence, Utah The Application of Sound Detection in Antiterrorism
Vernal Middle School Kaylee Huber (7th Grade) Vernal, Utah Playing with Fire
VIRGINIA USVA02 Ni River Middle School Ryan Catullo (8th Grade) Fredericksburg, Virginia How the Collective Variation in Airfoil Height and Wing Weight Affect the Amount of Lift Force Generated by Airplane Wings
Stafford Middle School Michael Foley (8th Grade) Stafford, Virginia Utilizing Psychological Priming for the Purpose of Improving Test Scores
USVA11 George H. Moody Middle School Cameron Sharma (8th Grade) Glen Allen, Virginia Was This Year’s Flu Epidemic Preventable: Designing the Type A Flu Vaccine, A Novel Computational Biology Approach
George H. Moody Middle School Tatiana Vaniakin (8th Grade) Richmond, Virginia The Effect of Dominant and Non-Dominant Brain Stimulation on Cognitive Skills
Short Pump Middle School Alexander Coffman (8th Grade) Glen Allen, Virginia The Effect of Winglet Design on Weight of Aircraft Due to Lift and Drag
USVA12 Warrenton Middle School Nathaniel Ribeiro (8th Grade) Warrenton, Virginia The Iron Chef System: The Essential Safety Cooking Accessories for Every Home and Kitchen
USVA78 Edlin School Ananya Yarlagadda (7th Grade) Ashburn, Virginia Predicting Gene Mutations that Could Cause Cystic Fibrosis
34 2018 Top 300 MASTERS WASHINGTON USIL05 Quest Academy Gabriella Lui (8th Grade) Bellevue, Washington Design a Fully Automated Real Time Presence Detection Safety System in a School Environment Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology
USWA01 Enterprise Middle School Nikhita Bontha (8th Grade)* Richland, Washington Understanding the Efficacy of Off-the-Shelf Probiotics and Prebiotics on the Gut Microbiome
USWA50 Homeschool Cleah Winston (6th Grade) Seattle, Washington Investigating Cyber-Security in Autonomous Cars
International Community School Audrey Gruian (8th Grade) Sammamish, Washington UVPDetect: Black Light and Computer Vision in a Novel Approach to the Detection of Microplastics in Water
Jason Lee Middle School Simmi Sen (6th Grade) Vancouver, Washington ColiClean — E. coli Water Filter
McMurray Middle School Iris Bordman (8th Grade) Vashon, Washington WaTeaUV — Saving Trees and Lives
McMurray Middle School Alyssa Hawkins (8th Grade) Port Orchard, Washington WaTeaUV — Saving Trees and Lives
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 35 Arhana Aatresh ...... 7 Naisha Chowdhury ...... 31 Jack Albright ...... 7 Megan Clark ...... 32 Jude Alexis ...... 12 Kelly Clingan ...... 12 Ciann Amalan ...... 9 Alexander Coffman ...... 34 David Anand ...... 26 Maximilien Coisman ...... 13 Kamran Ansari ...... 4 Olivia Cole ...... 24 Nadia Ansari ...... 4 Antonio Cortijo Rodgers ...... 12 Daniel Anthony ...... 26 Madeleine Cotter ...... 25 Kai Aravena ...... 16 Austin Crouchley ...... 25 Gauri Arora ...... 27 Caroline Crouchley ...... 25 Mahesh Arunachalam ...... 5 Christian Custodio ...... 14 Anjana Balachandar ...... 14 Harsh Deep ...... 11 Margaret Banks ...... 23 Aspen Delis ...... 35 Benjamin Barron ...... 16 Adrian Derderian ...... 6 Eleanor Barth-Wu ...... 29 Khushi Desai ...... 14 Maya Basu ...... 9 Parth Desai ...... 30 Elizabeth Bennion ...... 33 Arunima Deval ...... 28 Ella Berger ...... 22 Heather Dinman ...... 18 Harshal Bharatia ...... 31 Anna Du ...... 21 Sriram Bhimaraju ...... 7 Zoey Duan ...... 18 Irene Bhunia ...... 19 Nylah Ductan ...... 17 Tyler Bissoondial ...... 25 John Duerk ...... 23 Matthew Boelts ...... 3 Jasmine Elasaad ...... 6 Nikhita Bontha ...... 35 Efe Eroz ...... 21 Anvitha Boosani ...... 24 John Benedict Estrada ...... 5 Iris Bordman ...... 35 James Fagan ...... 10 Milana Breuninger ...... 28 Kiera Fehr ...... 20 Danielle Brooks ...... 30 Alice Feng ...... 8 Victor Cai ...... 29 Michael Foley ...... 34 Maria Calderon ...... 29 Sirinya Frankel ...... 12 Harrison Cameron ...... 10 Sullivan French ...... 30 Colin Campbell ...... 15 Yahvin Gali ...... 6 Lola Castorina ...... 5 Rithvik Ganesh ...... 31 Ryan Catullo ...... 34 Shounak Ghosh ...... 11 Chace Caven ...... 14 Diya Godavarti ...... 21 Kian Chakamian ...... 6 Nathan Gomez ...... 10 Emily Champion ...... 5 Abigail Goodman ...... 9 Maya Chandar ...... 14 Jake Grigorian ...... 5 Saanvi Chelikani ...... 18 Roy Gross ...... 9 Krishnakumar Chinnasamy ...... 29 Audrey Gruian ...... 35 Daniel Choi ...... 20 Mihir Gupta ...... 21
36 2018 Top 300 MASTERS Saira Gupta ...... 10 Kavin Kathir ...... 13 Peyton Haddock ...... 23 Isabelle Katz ...... 9 Sarah Hansen ...... 10 Adnan Khan ...... 22 Georgia Hartley ...... 12 Parisa Khashayar ...... 4 Alyssa Hawkins ...... 35 Spencer King ...... 11 KYRA Henriques ...... 16 Teaghan Knox ...... 27 Benno Hermans ...... 17 Kaz Kojima ...... 27 Zachary Hessler ...... 16 Krithi Koodli ...... 8 Alexis Hopper ...... 20 Walter Kotlinski ...... 30 Timo Horn ...... 16 Sophie Krajmalnik ...... 31 Frank Horrigan ...... 21 Kaylee Krininger ...... 17 Charles Hou ...... 31 Eeshwar Krishnan ...... 29 Alexandra Houseworth ...... 23 Daisy Kulina ...... 24 Emily Hsi ...... 4 Asmi Kumar ...... 18 Kaylee Huber ...... 34 Rohan Kumar ...... 14 Daniel Hufnagle ...... 28 Janani Kumaran ...... 14 Claire Hughes ...... 18 Sruthi Kurada ...... 22 Emily Huitt ...... 11 Christopher Kwok ...... 10 Georgia Hutchinson ...... 11 Nicholas Kwok ...... 10 Braedyn Hutchison ...... 12 Vivienne Lance ...... 21 Andrei Iosifescu ...... 25 Ayden Lapon ...... 16 Ahmad Ismail ...... 7 Faith Larimore ...... 32 Fatimah Ismail ...... 7 Jonathan LeBaron ...... 33 Nikita Istratov ...... 28 Gabriel Lerner-Sperow ...... 13 Rishab Jain ...... 28 Khalil Lindo ...... 17 Vedant Janapaty ...... 8 Stephen Litt ...... 18 Michael Jang ...... 25 Aidan Lok ...... 25 William Jenkins ...... 17 Lucero Long ...... 16 Jeffrey Jiang ...... 21 Gabriella Lui ...... 35 Huck Jones ...... 33 Thomas Lushington ...... 19 Mihir Joshi ...... 27 Alexis MacAvoy ...... 10 Anusha Kadiyala ...... 6 Varun Madan ...... 15 Julian Kage ...... 13 John Madland ...... 27 Deepika Kannan ...... 16 Hailey Mahadeen ...... 16 Pooja Kannappan ...... 23 Lamisa Mahmud ...... 33 Shraman Kar ...... 19 Mihir Manchikatla ...... 5 Shreyas Kar ...... 19 Darsh Mandera ...... 28 Mithra Karamchedu ...... 28 Atulya Mandyam ...... 6 Nithika Karthikeyan ...... 11 Clara Mangali ...... 4 Sahan Karunaratne ...... 9 Yasmeen Mannan ...... 30 Sina Kassayan ...... 11 Maansi Manoj ...... 20
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 37 Carina Mariaca ...... 15 Abrar Rahman ...... 32 Victor Markhasin ...... 32 Gayatri Rajan ...... 27 Chance Mastin ...... 26 Vinay Raman ...... 3 Julia Mastracci ...... 9 Avery Ramsey ...... 19 Lourdes McKay ...... 15 Arhan Rao ...... 32 Ellery McQuilkin ...... 10 Gitanjali Rao ...... 13 Lillian Mefford ...... 15 Vinay Ravi ...... 31 Charlotte Michaluk ...... 24 Laura Reilly ...... 32 Jett Miller ...... 23 Paula Reilly ...... 33 Echo Mitchell ...... 4 Sneha Revanur ...... 8 Luke Mo ...... 20 Nathaniel Ribeiro ...... 34 Ashini Modi ...... 20 Brighton Risch ...... 29 Jacob Morrison ...... 17 Hannah Rivkin ...... 15 Olina Mukherjee ...... 30 Kaia Rodrigues ...... 22 John Mulvihill ...... 20 Kennedy Rogers ...... 18 Rohan Murali ...... 6 Alicia Roice ...... 5 Gabriela Muriel ...... 15 Ashlyn Roice ...... 6 Benjamin Nachod ...... 21 Arhan Rout ...... 8 Varsha Naga ...... 17 Supriya Roy ...... 23 Jason Nanda ...... 13 Emma Ruccio ...... 13 Austin Nelson ...... 32 Kyle Ryan ...... 25 Alexandra Nikiforov ...... 25 Lakshmi Sajith ...... 9 Gianna Nilvo ...... 24 Aylin Salahifar ...... 8 Matthew Okuda ...... 18 Vivek Sandrapaty ...... 17 Julietta Onofrietti ...... 24 Diya Satanur ...... 22 Amara Orth ...... 19 Ashley Schletewitz ...... 5 William Owen ...... 24 Maya Schwickert ...... 3 Khushi Parikh ...... 13 Blake Scurry ...... 7 Frances Parker ...... 19 Simmi Sen ...... 35 Anisha Parsan ...... 33 Rikhil Seshadri ...... 23 Samik Pattanayak ...... 11 Arvind Seshan ...... 30 Sidhya Peddinti ...... 31 Ksenia Sevostianov ...... 24 Madison Perkins ...... 32 Shaivi Shah ...... 4 Hayden Pilkinton ...... 3 Neel Shanmugam ...... 31 Srivishnu Piratla ...... 22 Cameron Sharma ...... 34 Rachel Pizzolato ...... 20 Pratishtha Sharma ...... 32 Ashwin Prabhakar ...... 3 Regan Sharp ...... 27 Jacqueline Prawira ...... 11 Dhivya Shepherd ...... 29 Kate Quinn ...... 20 John Shin ...... 26 Anthony Quittschreiber ...... 22 Bentley Siems ...... 19 Firas Qureshi ...... 4 Diptanshu Sikdar ...... 7
38 2018 Top 300 MASTERS Mikayla Simmons ...... 15 Leo Wylonis ...... 29 Ridhima Singh ...... 30 Daron Yacoubian ...... 5 Parmesh Sivakumar ...... 29 Abby Yamashita ...... 10 Espen Slettnes ...... 9 Vincent Yang ...... 31 Ziyad Soliman ...... 6 Henry Yao ...... 7 Anna Spalvieri ...... 30 Ananya Yarlagadda ...... 34 Prayag Sreenivasan ...... 32 Aidan Yen ...... 24 Nicole Stover ...... 14 Camellia Yuan ...... 34 Ahmad Sukhon ...... 22 Emma Zebrowski ...... 4 Arely Sun ...... 8 Jackson Zemek ...... 30 Esha Sury ...... 12 Gary Zhan ...... 33 Neil Sury ...... 13 Kaitlyn Zuravel ...... 26 Sonia Swamy ...... 7 Lauren Zuravel ...... 26 Faisal Syed ...... 18 Michael Taylor ...... 22 Jaanavi Thanamala ...... 9 Joseph Thomas ...... 8 Sarah Thomas ...... 21 Carl Tubbs ...... 19 Dev Rishi Udata ...... 28 Danielle Uroda ...... 28 Annika Vaidyanathan ...... 16 Marc van Zyl ...... 17 Pratik Vangal ...... 27 Tatiana Vaniakin ...... 34 Adam Velazco ...... 3 Akshaya Venkatesh ...... 3 Akash Verma ...... 14 Ananya Vinay ...... 5 Uma Volety ...... 26 Emily Wang ...... 20 Gavin Wang ...... 29 Haiyan Wang ...... 12 Olivia Washburn ...... 33 Regan Williams ...... 26 Ayana Wilmot ...... 8 Alexandra Wingate ...... 11 Cleah Winston ...... 35 Tiadora Wisco ...... 27 Andrew Woodley ...... 23 Ethan Wurman ...... 12
2018 Top 300 MASTERS 39 About Broadcom Foundation About Society for Science & the Public Founded in April 2009, the Broadcom Foundation is The Society for Science & the Public is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of advancing champion for science, dedicated to expanding science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) scientific literacy, effective STEM education and education by funding research, recognizing scholar- scientific research. Founded in 1921, we are a ship and increasing opportunity. nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization The foundation inspires young people to pursue focused on promoting the understanding and careers in STEM and to develop 21st Century skills appreciation of science and the vital role it plays in of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and human advancement. Through its acclaimed creativity. It is a founding member of the National education competitions, including the Regeneron STEM Funders Network and plays a leadership role Science Talent Search, the Intel International in the STEM Education Ecosystem Initiative in the Science and Engineering Fair, and the Broadcom U.S. and Israel. MASTERS, and its award-winning publications, The foundation’s signature programs, the Broadcom Science News and Science News for Students, MASTERS® and the Broadcom MASTERS® Inter- the Society is committed to inform, educate and national, are the premier science and engineering inspire. competitions for middle school students around the Learn more at www.societyforscience.org and United States and the world. follow us on Twitter (@Society4Science). Learn more at www.broadcomfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter (@BroadcomSTEM).